So the matter returns to the original question, who took 008 from Ince Zangwill and orchestrated his death?
Leonard had once asked the old man about this and received the answer: beware of Spectators. So he believed the new owner of 008 should be a high-sequence Beyonder of the Spectator pathway.
But he definitely couldn't tell this "Eye of the Goddess" in front of him directly, lest it lead to other connected questions.
Seeing that Ms. Ilya hadn't spoken for the moment, Leonard quietly shifted his gaze to the train window. It was just before dawn; the crimson moon had faded, yet faint starlight still lingered in the sky.
The steam train kept heading toward Southville County. Naturally, Leonard thought of Hastur, who had come here to serve as a lord. If he had the time, he could even visit Hastur's castle.
A few days later, the steam train arrived at a station in Southville County, and the group chose to transfer to a carriage.
According to Derby Augustus, the one who bought a ticket for Ince Zangwill, he had encountered Ince Zangwill on the way to the train. All of his attendants had been slaughtered.
Only Derby survived because he heard Ince Zangwill muttering repeatedly about Backlund and cleverly offered to buy him a ticket there.
Following Derby's description, they found the place where he first met Ince Zangwill.
More than half a month had passed since that encounter. Any traces left behind had long been washed away by rain.
At least Leonard couldn't find any clues about Ince Zangwill here.
But Ms. Ilya, known as the Eye of the Goddess, could still detect relevant traces and led everyone deep into the forest.
Leonard felt genuine admiration. As expected of the Eye of the Goddess, people really do say there are no wrong nicknames, only wrong names.
The Eye of the Goddess truly was the goddess's eye, observing the mortal world in place of the divine.
....
Inside an inn at Puning Port, Alfred Hall received two letters from Backlund, one from Earl Hall, and one from Audrey.
He read Earl Hall's letter first. It expressed delight at his return to the Kingdom of Loen and approval of his ambition to achieve merit, but also suggested that he return to Backlund for a short stay.
After a moment of silence, he opened Audrey's letter.
It lacked the oppressive tone of the former and instead carried a casual, conversational feel. Toward the end, she mentioned a young earl named Hastur Campbell, who would assist the Duke of Southville with coastal defense in the future.
After thinking it over, Alfred decided to reply to his sister first. As for Earl Hall's letter, he hadn't made up his mind yet.
....
Inside the study of the castle, Hastur finally received both the pressure exerted from Backlund onto Southville County and a letter from Audrey.
Early this morning, the Duke of Southville had invited him for talks regarding coastal defense.
This was a signal, it meant the duke was willing to give up part of his authority over coastal defense.
Hastur's appetite wasn't too large at this stage. Among the eight major ports of Southville County, securing three would already be a good start.
"Audrey's second brother intends to stay in Southville County to make a name for himself… we'll see how he performs."
Hastur had no intention of proactively contacting Alfred.
After finishing his reply to Audrey, he brought along Ariella, with four attendants following behind, and took a carriage to the duke's villa.
It was a rather troublesome journey, as his castle was quite remote. Once he finished dealing with the duke, he planned to stay temporarily at a port, Puning Port seemed like a decent choice.
The Duke of Southville received Hastur warmly, just like last time, even deliberately bringing up the pair of sisters he had gifted.
Hastur smiled. "They've adapted well to cleaning duties in the castle."
"..." The duke's expression darkened considerably. Those delicate flowers he had painstakingly cultivated were meant to be kept by someone's bedside, not sent to do crude chores like cleaning.
"They're also quite good at pruning branches. With another year or two of training, they should be able to work as gardeners."
The duke took a deep breath and didn't pursue the topic further, instead shifting to the matter of coastal defense.
When the duke tentatively asked for Hastur's views on the issue, Hastur abruptly stood up and launched into an impassioned speech.
He spoke from naval reforms to the South Continent's offensive tendencies, then moved on to international affairs.
The duke and the accompanying nobles were all left stunned.
"Ahem." The duke cleared his throat and interrupted the lengthy speech.
There was no way he could remember all that, he had nearly fallen asleep. Looking around, most of the nobles were the same; some had even begun dozing off.
The duke gestured for Hastur to sit before saying, "What you said is quite good. Coastal defense is indeed important. How about this, you can start by trying things out at Hughes Port and see the results."
Hughes Port was one of the eight major ports, located in the northeast of Southville County. It was the northernmost port and also the least developed economically, with the least profit.
Hastur immediately refused, stating that he intended to unify the entire coastal defense of Southville County, none of the eight major ports could be left out.
Such an enormous appetite made the duke's cheeks tremble. This wasn't just yielding a bit of benefit, it was like carving flesh from him with a knife.
Naturally, he couldn't agree. He said deliberately, "You've only just arrived and aren't familiar with the situation. You should take over the other ports gradually in the future."
The nobles echoed the duke's words.
Hastur glanced at them and spoke calmly, "Hughes Port, the northernmost port, has a garrison of 1,500 troops, including 800 navy personnel, with four medium warships and twelve small warships."
"Harker Port, just south of Hughes Port, is slightly more developed, with 1,200 stationed troops, including 600 navy personnel, with three medium warships and ten small warships."
...
"Puning Port, the major southern port, is the most important hub connecting Southville County to the South Continent. It has a garrison of 3,200 troops, including 1,800 navy personnel, with one large warship, eight medium warships, and twenty-five small warships…"
Hastur slowly recited the information provided by Caius, effectively slapping the duke in public.
The duke stared at him in astonishment. According to reports, Hastur Campbell spent most of his time in his castle, how could he know these details so well?
Even so, he couldn't possibly hand over the entire coastal defense line.
After an intense round of negotiation and bargaining… Hastur gradually relented.
From eight ports to six, then to an even split of four, and finally taking another step back, he settled for just three ports.
It was a result both sides found satisfactory. On the surface, Hastur had given the duke plenty of face, retreating step by step. Even the nobles acting as mediators felt it inappropriate to press further.
Sure enough, the "open window" theory worked in any world.
In a good mood, the duke invited Hastur to spend a day enjoying the city. Hastur sighed in mild annoyance but reluctantly agreed, which only improved the duke's mood further.
....
At Puning Port, the Red Gloves team, having followed the trail from Backlund, emerged from the depths of the forest and arrived at the place where Ince Zangwill had first appeared in Southville County.
According to several elderly witnesses who had been watching the sea early that morning, it was at sunrise on a certain day.
They saw a figure swim ashore from the sea, drenched and utterly disheveled, as if he had been drifting at sea for days.
That unfortunate man was Ince Zangwill. By gathering accounts from other witnesses in Puning Port, they gradually reconstructed his movements there.
Following the trail further, they arrived at the residence of Viscount Staden, who had been killed by Ince Zangwill.
Through investigation, they learned that strange phenomena had occurred that night, fire meteors continuously fell from the sky, damaging many houses.
Because the events were so abnormal, many people still remembered that night clearly.
After leaving Backlund, Ince Zangwill had encountered a series of pursuits and assassination attempts!
This was the conclusion reached by the Red Gloves team, including Ms. Ilya, the Eye of the Goddess.
The steam train explosion in East Tuck County had also involved Ince Zangwill.
Then there was the sudden appearance of the Black Emperor near the coast, coincidentally encountering the ship Ince Zangwill was on.
Everything had been too coincidental. Perhaps he had already lost 008 before all this, which led to his dire situation.
Ilya sighed. "Those who betray their faith will ultimately be abandoned by fate."
Leonard, however, sat aside, lost in thought.
He had already asked around, Puning Port wasn't far from Hastur's territory. By carriage, it would take about half a day.
"Leonard, what do you think about this matter?"
Caught off guard by Ilya's sudden question, Leonard felt awkward for a moment before answering seriously:
"I believe that 008 is now in the hands of a high-sequence Beyonder of the Spectator pathway, who has orchestrated all these coincidences and 'accidents' in Ince Zangwill's fate."